Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Led Zeppelin - Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)
The b-side of the "Whole Lotta Love" single "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" comes off of the Led Zeppelin II album released in 1969. Originally, in the U.K. it was released as "Living Loving Wreck (She's Just a Woman)."
Speaking of Led Zeppelin, for whatever reason I've never done a review on here of Mick Wall's biography on the band, When Giants Walked the Earth, but it's definitely a must for LZ fans. It's a fairly long book with loads of information. What I like most is that Wall gives the reader a fair assessment of Led Zeppelin and doesn't hold back in criticizing some of Zeppelin's antics off-stage, particularly the management's behavior. There's also some pretty interesting stuff about manager Peter Grant and his interactions with legendary concert promoter Bill Graham.
The insight Mick Wall gives about the making of Zeppelin's albums is really great. However, I could have done without the chapter dedicated to Jimmy Page's infatuation with the occult and Aleister Crowley. Although in fairness, I understand why that subject couldn't be compressed into a paragraph or two.
All in all I think When Giants Walked the Earth is a very good book by a well-respected rock critic and biographer.
The Who - Drowned (Toronto 1982)
Great version of "Drowned" off of the Quadrophenia album performed by the band at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens. Pete Townshend's leaps in the closing moments of the video are priceless.
Roger Daltrey Touring Tommy in the U.K.
It's just been announced that Roger Daltrey and his solo band will be touring Tommy in the U.K. this July. The rumor has been for a while that he would play dates in Europe during the summer and then hit the U.S. this fall. Here is the info about the U.K. tour, for more visit TheWho.com.Dates, Cities and Venues
July 3 ALCESTER RAGLEY HALL
Jul 4 GATESHEAD SAGE
Jul 6 GLASGOW CLYDE AUDITORIUM
Jul 7 MANCHESTER BRIDGEWATER HALL
Jul 9 NOTTINGHAM ROYAL CENTRE
Jul 10 NEWPORT CENTRE
Jul 12 BRISTOL COLSTON HALL
Jul 13 SOUTHEND CLIFFS PAVILLION
Jul 15 GUILDFORD GUILFEST
Jul 16 HAMPSHIRE BROADLANDS
Jul 17 HARROGATE RIPLEY HOUSE
Jul 19 HULL CITY HALL
Jul 21 LONDON INDIGO 02
Jul 22 NORWICH BLICKLING HALL
Jul 24 EXETER POWDERHAM CASTLE
John Bundrick Out of The Who?
When Keith Moon died in 1978, The Who brought in Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones and keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick. Jones was later replaced with Zak Starkey and now it appears as though Bundrick's days with the band are over. Bundrick wrote a blog post here on his website (that has since been deleted), which has fueled speculation that he will no longer work with The Who.
"How do I feel?…….Imagine spending your entire Adult Life at a job, and then find out you’ve been tossed away like a used bubble gum wrapper. It f******(censored by Who Zeppelin) hurts!"
The rumor is that The Who were going to tour Quadrophenia in 2011 but Roger Daltrey wanted to use members of his solo band - Jon Button (bass), Loren Gold (keyboardist) and Scott Devours (drums) - instead of Pino Palladino, John Bundrick and Zak Starkey to join himself, Pete and Simon Townshend.
Pete Townshend nixed the idea.
The manager of The Who's website wouldn't comment either way on Bundrick's status on the site's forum.
"Rabbit" Bundrick has been with the band since '78, except for missing the 1982 tour where he was replaced by Tim Gorman (known for his work with Duane Eddy). Other than The Who, Bundrick is noted for playing with Free and he also played on Johnny Nash's hit song, "I Can See Clearly Now."
So far there hasn't been any word from Zak Starkey or Pino Palladino.
"How do I feel?…….Imagine spending your entire Adult Life at a job, and then find out you’ve been tossed away like a used bubble gum wrapper. It f******(censored by Who Zeppelin) hurts!"
The rumor is that The Who were going to tour Quadrophenia in 2011 but Roger Daltrey wanted to use members of his solo band - Jon Button (bass), Loren Gold (keyboardist) and Scott Devours (drums) - instead of Pino Palladino, John Bundrick and Zak Starkey to join himself, Pete and Simon Townshend.
Pete Townshend nixed the idea.
The manager of The Who's website wouldn't comment either way on Bundrick's status on the site's forum.
"Rabbit" Bundrick has been with the band since '78, except for missing the 1982 tour where he was replaced by Tim Gorman (known for his work with Duane Eddy). Other than The Who, Bundrick is noted for playing with Free and he also played on Johnny Nash's hit song, "I Can See Clearly Now."
So far there hasn't been any word from Zak Starkey or Pino Palladino.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Bands that have Opened for The Who
Back in March over on The Shout message board a poster started the topic of what bands or singers have opened for The Who. I've cleaned up the thread and added a few of my own and this is the result. Feel free to let me know if I have omitted anyone or if there should be changes made.
Bands that have opened for The Who:
Back Door Slam (2007)
Blackfoot (1980)
The Black Velvets (2004)
The Charlatans (2007, Wembley Arena)
The Dicers (1964, All I could find was a link to concert poster auction.)The Doodlebugs (1967, guitarist Mike Dickinson sat in on a couple of songs for Pete who missed the show due to an accident that tied up the highway.)
Drivin' N Cryin' (1997)
Elton John (1970)
The Fratellis (2006, The Roundhouse in London)
Golden Earring (1972, Amsterdam)
The Herd (1967)
The Hunters (see The Dicers)
Inward Eye (2008)
Jethro Tull (1970, Tanglewood)
Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes (2000)
Joe Jackson (1982)
Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros
Kasabian (2006)
Kilburn & the High Road (I linked to Ian Drury since this was his band).
Kinkane (Pete Townshend's nephew Ben is the drummer.)
The Kinks (1969)
Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul (Steven Van Zandt's solo band.)
Marmalade (1967)
John Mellencamp (1982)Ordinary Boys (2007, Hull, U.K.)
Quicksilver Messenger Service (1968)
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
Santana (1982)
Shack (2007, Birmingham, U.K.)
Simon Townshend (He opened the February 25, 2007 show in Fresno, California when Rose Hill Drive got held up in Reno, Nevada due to a snowstorm.)
Stevie Wonder (1973)
Sweety Glitter and the Sweethearts
Traffic (1967)
The Tremeloes (1967)
UnAmerican (2000)
The Wallflowers (2000)
Willie Nile (1980)
Led Zeppelin - Good Times Bad Times
Led Zeppelin introduces itself to the world with "Good Times Bad Times," the first song on their eponymous 1969 album.
The Who - Bell Boy
One other note that was mentioned in Won't Get Fooled Again: From Lifehouse to Quadrophenia is how great of a song "Bell Boy" is and for some reason it never finds itself onto greatest hits collections or onto classic rock stations, which is a real shame. The book's author, Richie Unterberger, labeled this song from Quadrophenia as one of Pete Townshend's finest compositions. I can't disagree with him. I reviewed the book in my previous post which you can find by clicking this.
Won't Get Fooled Again: The Who From Lifehouse to Quadrophenia
Last night I finished reading Won't Get Fooled Again: The Who From Lifehouse to Quadrophenia and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the book. In fact, I may at some point read it again.What I particularly liked was the second half which was dedicated to the making of the 1973 album Quadrophenia. The author, Richie Unterberger, goes into great detail about the production of the record; Pete Townshend's explanation of the story of Jimmy and the mods; and the recording process.
He also explains how some of the sound effects were recorded. For example, the train whistle was obtained by giving a driver of a train five pounds to blow the train's whistle as he pulled out of a railroad station. Also, an actual newscaster was convinced to read on-air the part about the mods and rockers rioting, in Orson Welles fashion of course.
The first half discusses Lifehouse, which never materialized as a concept album, but rather many of the songs formed the 1971 album Who's Next.
Won't Get Fooled Again: The Who From Lifehouse to Quadrophenia goes into great detail about Pete Townshend's difficulty in explaining Lifehouse to the other band members and the group's management. At that time Pete was trying to follow up the hugely successful 1969 Tommy album and the futuristic Lifehouse ended up driving a huge wedge between Pete and manager Kit Lambert who had been so key in the consummation of Tommy. During this time period the band would drop Lambert and co-manager Chris Stamp and go with Bill Curbishley (who they still use to this day) because apparently money was missing, not because Lambert and Stamp were thieves, but because the two had gotten so deeply involved in drugs.
By the way, the book's cover (pictured above) is of Pete in his home studio where he recorded the demos for Lifehouse.
Unterberger also explains the thinking behind using Glyn Johns as the producer for Who's Next, but not using him for Quadrophenia.
As I wrote earlier in this post, I can definitely see myself reading this book again and at the very least I absolutely will refer back to it from time to time.
The Who - Boris the Spider
The Who's John Entwistle wrote "Boris the Spider," which appeared on the band's 1966 album, A Quick One. Entwistle wrote the song after a night of drinking with the Rolling Stones' Bill Wyman. The two were throwing around funny names for animals when John came up with "Boris the Spider." Pete Townshend has said on more than one occasion that "Boris the Spider" was Jimi Hendrix's favorite song by The Who. In fact, Townshend wrote of Hendrix's love for the song in the liner notes of Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
John Entwistle's Last "Sparks"
The Who did three warmup gigs for the 2002 Teenage Cancer Trust Concert. Two at Portsmouth Guildhall and one at Watford Colloseum. John died on June 27, 2002.
Led Zeppelin - Shakin' All Over
A song that both The Who and Led Zeppelin covered was "Shakin' All Over" which was originally recorded by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. Wikipedia has more about the song here. I prefer The Who's version which they did on Live at Leeds (1970), but I like Zeppelin's cover, also.
The Who - In The Hall Of The Mountain King
The Who put their own spin on Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King," which was an orchestral piece written around 1867. Wikipedia has more on Grieg's version here. Meanwhile, The Who included it on the 1995 reissue of The Who Sell Out (1967).
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